Good movie, but it doesn't give the audience enough credit

Rating: 7/10 (5 October 2012)

Ever heard someone tell a great joke, then ruin it by explaining the punch line even though you got it the first time? That's the feeling I kept getting throughout this film. Don't get me wrong, it's a good movie well worth watching. But the director's habit of over-explaining things kept making me wonder if he thinks we're all idiots.
For example, there's a really cool scene where 2 pianists have a duel. Pianist #1 plays something amazing. Pianist #2 duplicates it note-for-note. It was almost a perfect scene except the director felt the need to have some extras in the audience yelling, "He's playing the same thing! The exact same thing!"
Another example would be during the same scene when one pianist breaks into a taunting version of "Silent Night". It was a funny moment, but again those stupid extras start yelling, "Haha, he's playing 'Silent Night'!!"
Whenever anyone plays something impressive we get those same unnecessary commentaries from peripheral characters, essentially telling the audience, "Ok, you're supposed to be impressed here." In that vein, the whole production struck me as being very operatic... meaning characters exaggerate reactions and emotions for the sake of giving the audience cues. Reminded me of a Kenneth Branaugh film. If you like em that way, then no problem. But if you prefer films on the subtle side (Kubrick, Bergman, Kieslowski), you might start to get distracted by this film's overtness.
THE FILM'S SAVING GRACE... is the incomparable Tim Roth. He offsets the melodrama of the characters around him with his calm, sober portrayal of the guy who knows it all yet has seen nothing. Roth plays the central character, a man who has lived his entire life within the bowels of a boat. And he pulls it off with amazing authenticity.
The film's final 15 minutes are where Roth really shines, and the director gives him every opportunity to do so with no distractions (no music, dark set with only faces illuminated, nice slow pacing so the dialogue can breathe). When it was all over, I could forgive the minor flaws mentioned above, and I came away impressed and fulfilled.
I definitely recommend "1900" if you liked the films "Copying Beethoven", "Shine" and of course "Cinema Paradiso"... It has the same polished style. In many ways it also reminded me of the Herzog film "Invincible", a movie that similarly comes across as a little overdone, but as soon as Roth appears everything falls into place.